Akt is also known as protein kinase B

List all Secondary Messengers

Phosphoinositide 3Kinase is a heterodimer with two subunits. The regulatory subunit binds IRS-1. The kinase subunit interacts with PIP₂. Why do you think overproduction of the regulatory subunit leads to insulin resistance associated with type 2 diabetes?

should the government mandate the vaccination of the general public against both childhood illness and seasonal diseases?

Give a one sentence description description of the role of membrane proteins in the following

• Transport -active transport, facilitated diffusion - requires concentration gradient

• Enzymatic activity -  
• Signal transduction –

• Cell-cell recognition -
• Intercellular joining -
• Attachment -

Explain the events that led to the development of aquaculture (e.g. what happened to Cannery Row?). What are some pros to aquaculture?What are some cons to aquaculture?

Certain species of blind fish living in perpetual darkness in the ocean depths have evolved from ancestors that could see. Research indicates that the brain centers for vision in these fish is degenerating, whereas the brain centers controlling other senses are enlarging. What might be the MOST probable reason for the loss of vision in these fish?

A. exposure to mutagens that caused the loss of vision

B. progressive selection of genetic variants in the population leading to blindness as an evolutionary adaptation

C. infection by cave-dwelling microorganisms that has led to degeneration of the eyes

D. extreme high pressure at the ocean depths causing a deterioration of vision

Male birds of paradise have evolved to possess a brilliant display of plumage. The male shows off his plumage to woo a female. Which of the following statements about this trait is true?

1. The colorful feathers in the male are a result of progressive sexual selection.

2. The female has a large part to play in the evolution of the male’s colorful plumage.

3. The colorful plumage functions as a survival advantage in its environment.

A. I only

B. II only

C. I and III

D. I and II

Darwin’s finches, which inhabit the Galapagos Islands, originally migrated from mainland South America. The loss of plants producing medium-sized nuts on one island led to the evolution of finches with either small or large beaks and selected against finches with medium-sized beaks. What kind of selective pressure is in action here?

A. directional selection

B. genetic drift

C. gene flow

D. disruptive selection

Assess which of the following variants from a population would have the maximum relative fitness.

I. Variant that matures and becomes fertile early and is short-lived.

II. Variant that matures and becomes fertile early and is long-lived.

III. Variant that is robust, long-lived, and sterile.

IV. Variant that matures and becomes fertile late and is long-lived.

A. I and IV

B. III only

C. II only

D. I and II

The peppered moth, Biston betularia, occurs as light- or dark-colored variants. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, the light-colored moths were more prevalent because they could camouflage well on lichen-covered trees. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution and increasing air pollution, dark-colored moths became more prevalent. What is the type of evolutionary force at work? Why do the darker moths become more prevalent?

A. directional selection; because lighter moths were killed by the air pollution

B. directional selection; because darker moths escaped being spotted by predators

C. genetic drift; because lighter moths were killed by the air pollution

D. genetic drift; because darker moths escaped being spotted by predators

The whiptail lizard is an all-female population in which an individual lizard reproduces by cloning itself (by a process called parthenogenesis). Because of this, all surviving whiptail lizards are clones of one another. Which of the following statements is true?

I.         The absence of sexual reproduction conserves resources and allows the population to thrive better overall.

II.        The absence of sexual reproduction conserves resources but is detrimental to the long-term survival of the species.

III.      All members of the population are equally susceptible to parasites and disease.

IV.      The population can easily adapt to any environmental change.

A. I only

B. II only

C. IV only

D. II and III

A scientist attempts to maintain a population of pea plants in a “non-evolving state” by trying to simulate the conditions required for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. He places the plants in a contained area under controlled conditions (no factors limiting) and makes certain that all crosses conducted are completely random. Which conditions for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium have NOT been met?

I. no gene flow

II.       no net mutations

III.      random mating

IV. no natural selection

A. I and II

B. II and IV

C. II only

D. IV only

Among a population of lizards inhabiting an arid habitat, the skin color is controlled by two alleles—B (brown skin color) that is dominant over b (green skin color). The green lizards comprise only 4 percent of the population whereas the brown lizards comprise the rest. Over a long period of time, increased rainfall in the area leads to transformation of the habitat, with growth of shrubs and small trees. The brown and green lizard numbers almost reverse with the green lizards approaching 81 percent of the total population. Calculate the allele frequency for the green skin color before and after the climate change occurred. Why did the brown lizard, which initially had greater relative fitness than the green lizard, reduce in number drastically?

A. 2, 9; because relative fitness is dependent on environmental conditions

B. 0.2, 0.9; because relative fitness is dependent on environmental conditions

C. 0.2, 0.9; because the green lizard population acquired new adaptations that caused them to increase in number

D. 0.4, 0.81; because the green lizard population acquired new adaptations that caused them to increase in number

The organization of bones in the human arm is similar to that in a whale’s front flippers as well as to that in the wings of a bat. Clearly, these appendages in different classes of mammals have evolved to perform different functions in their respective environments. What term BEST describes these structures?

A. homologous structures

B. analogous structures

C. vestigial structures

D. convergent evolution

The Amish community in Eastern Pennsylvania stemmed from a small closed population of around 200 individuals from Eastern Europe. Certain mutant alleles have been found at higher frequencies in the Amish relative to the general population, including a rare form of dwarfism called Ellis-Van Creveld syndrome, in which the short stature is accompanied by polydactyly. Evaluate the factors driving evolution in the Amish population. Is this form of evolution adaptive? Explain.

How is a bubble similar to a fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder that can result in mental retardation if left untreated. Two normal parents produce a child with PKU.

If the recessive PKU allele is ‘n’ and the dominant normal allele is ‘N’, what are the genotypes of both parents?

A. Mother is NN and Father is nn

B. Mother is Nn and Father is nn

C. Mother is nn and Father is Nn

D. Mother and Father are both Nn

E. Mother and Father are both nn

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder that can result in mental retardation if left untreated. Two heterozygous individuals have a child.

What is the probability that a sperm from the father will contain the normal allele?

A. 1/2

B. 1/4

C. 1/8

D. 1/16

E. 0

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder that can result in mental retardation if left untreated. Two heterozygous individuals produce a child with PKU.

What is the probability that their next child will be a son who has PKU ?

A. 1/2

B. 1/4

C. 1/6

D. 1/8

E. 1/16

You will use A, B, and O for these questions to represent the alleles in this example.

The ABO blood system works in a Mendelian fashion, but has 3 possible alleles at one locus (A, B, and O alleles). Each person can have only 2 of those alleles in their genotype. A and B are both dominant (and so can be co-dominant), and O is recessive to both A and B. So, for example, if you have B blood type, your genotype could be either BB or BO -- both of those genotypes would yield B phenotype. If your phenotype is AB blood type, then your genotype is AB.

Given the following scenario determine the genotypes of all these individuals. (Hint: What can the offspring tell you about the parents?)

You have a mother who has two children. There are two men who might need to pay child support; we need to figure out which man owes. Who is the father of these two children?

Mother: blood type A

Child 1: blood type O

Child 2: blood type A

Possible father 1: blood type A

Possible father 2: blood type O

List all possible genotypes for each of these individuals (mother, 2 children, 2 men).

Based on this information, is it possible to exclude either of these men as being the father? Why or why not

Match the following neurotransmitter receptor subtype to the ligand, and properties

Alpha 1, D2, AMPA, CB1, CB2, GABAa, mu opioid, 5HT3, alpha 2, kappa opioid, D1, 5HT1A, GABAb, NMDA

• Binds dopamine with high affinity, producing slow hyperpolarization through decreasing cAMP

• Binds dopamine with low affinity, producing slow repolarization through increasing cAMP

• Binds norepinephrine with low affinity producing slow depolarization through increasing intracellular cAMP

• Binds serotonin, opening ligand gated channel, producing a fast PSP

• Binds serotonin, often found presynaptically acting as auto receptor slowing neurotransmitter release, due to decreased cAMP which closes voltage gated calcium channels

• Ionotropic receptor acting as Cl- channel that increases ion influx in presence of both GABA and depressant drugs like anxiolytics

• Metabotropic receptor producing a slow hyperpolarization when bound to GABA

• Ionotropic receptor ligand gated by glutamate and glycine; also Mg+ blocking channel so require ligands+ simultaneous membrane depolarization to allow Ca++ influx

• Ionotropic receptor ligand gated by glutamate, allowing passage of Na+. This produces most fast EPSPs from glutamate binding

• Binds 2-AG with high affinity, anandamide is a partial agonist, heavily expressed in CNS, found presynaptically, Gi-coupled

• Found on microglia and in periphery on immune cells, Gi-coupled associated with controlling (limiting) cytokine release

• Gi-coupled, ligand activated by dynorphin, found on presynaptic VTA terminals, when activated will decrease DA release from VTA terminals

• Gi-coupled, ligand activated by beta-endorphin, found on presynaptic GABA terminals projecting to VTA, when activated will disinhibit VTA, increasing DA release from VTA

Some relatively mild illnesses, like the common cold, return to infect you again and again. For a while, right after you recover from a cold, you are immune. But that doesn’t last; after some weeks or months, depending on the illness, you become susceptible again. This means there is now a flow from the recovered population to the susceptible. These exercises ask you to modify the basic S-I-R model to describe an illness where immunity is temporary.

c. We saw in the text that the model for an illness that confers permanent immunity has a threshold value for S in the sense that when S is above the threshold, I increases, but when it is below, I decreases. Does this model have the same feature? If so, what is the threshold value?

Choose one of the four forms of cell signaling and describe it in detail using examples.   Relate the development of such systems with the evolution of multicellularity and apply this to an explanation of why this would be advantageous in complex organisms.

Discuss similarities and differences between C3, C4, and CAM plants using examples of each. How does the environment each type is found in relate to their respective differences in photosynthesis?

How is DNA protected from spontaneous and environmental damage, and how is damage, once inflicted, reversed?

During which stage of the viral life cycle would viral capsid proteins be manufactured?

A. Assembly

B. Biosynthesis

C. Release

D. Entry